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UNG's student success initiatives featured in national magazine

Students work with mentors on a service-learning project in the Near Peer Service-Learning Program, facilitated by Dr. Sheri Hardee. Service-learning is identified by UNG as a high-impact practice.

The Association of American Colleges and Universities' (AACU) new edition of "Peer Review" magazine features the University of North Georgia in two articles about student success, including one article written by UNG faculty.

"Peer Review" is a quarterly magazine providing a briefing on the current debates and trends within undergraduate liberal education. The magazine's spring 2013 edition features an article, Get HIP: Facilitating Student and Faculty Success, by Dr. Kris Roney, associate vice president and dean of UNG's University College, and Dr. Mary Carney, director of UNG's Center for Teaching, Learning and Leadership. The article details the beginning of Gainesville State College's (GSC) Roadmap Project with a strategy model based on high-impact practices (HIP).

"As a consolidated institution, UNG has retained its foundational commitment to engaging students in high-impact learning experiences," said Dr. Patricia Donat, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. "Through each of its academic pathways to completion, UNG faculty members partner with students to provide them with the educational opportunities that support their success."

Carney said that while the project was awarded to and formatted for GSC, the practices are well-aligned with those of UNG. UNG was created in January 2013 through the consolidation of GSC and North Georgia College & State University (NGCSU).

"Both institutions prioritized undergraduate research, service-learning, and diversity and global learning," Carney said. "These three high-impact practices were the focus not only of GSC’s grant project, but also were central to NGCSU's most recent strategic plan. The former GSC Roadmap Grant project meshes seamlessly with the priorities of UNG and is part of our ongoing commitment in providing students with meaningful learning experiences."

Roney added that the Roadmap Project can be of benefit to other institutions examining the implementation of similar plans.

"Our participation in the Roadmap Project came during a time of considerable change, which necessitated that the project implementation be flexible enough to accommodate dramatically shifting visions," Roney said. "As higher education in general is experiencing dramatic shifts across the board, our experience suggests that a defined and energizing focus, which in our case was increasing student engagement in the classroom, is critical to successfully responding to the unexpected."

The second article explores AACU's project Developing a Community College Roadmap, and discusses how the project will help community colleges build more effective institutional models. The project was built around the mission to create support programs geared toward engaging students to become self-advocates in pursuing educational success. The article credits UNG as one of the 12 institutions participating in the first phase.

AACU is a leading national association that comprises nearly 1,300 member institutions concerned with the quality, vitality, and public standing of undergraduate liberal education. Members include community colleges, research universities and comprehensive universities of every type and size.